Jenny Sullivan will direct the George S. Kaufman-Moss Hart comedy, which will run through Dec. 23. The cast will include Karyl Lynn Burns, Winslow Corbett, Joseph Fuqua, Robin Gammell, Harold Gould, Dan Gunther, Amanda McBroom, John Bennett Perry, Robin Pearson Rose and Bruce Weitz. You Can't Take It With You, according to press notes, concerns "Alice Sycamore [who] invites her fiancee's parents home to meet her family. The Kirbys are stuffy, self-important and wealthy, while the Sycamores are good-hearted lunatics with little visible means of support. Lifestyles and philosophies collide – with hilarious results."
Joe Spano will star in R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE, which was penned by D. W. Jacobs based on the life, work and writings of Fuller. Jacobs will also direct the Jan. 17, 2007-Feb. 10, 2008 run, which explores Fuller's "life and work through a blend of testimony, lecture, autobiography, poetry, comic antics and video imagery. The play spirals and spins through ideas and experiences."
The award-winning Bus Stop, directed by Brian McDonald, will play the Rubicon Feb. 21-March 16. John Bennett Perry will be featured in the cast of the production. William Inge's classic work is described as such: "Bo can rope a steer and ride a bronco better'n anyone. But when he goes to the big city with his friend Vern to ride in the rodeo, he gets his heart hogtied by a chanteuse named Cherie. He decides to haul her off to his ranch in Montana to get hitched. But she'll have none of it. When the two find themselves stranded with fellow bus travelers at a diner during a Kansas snowstorm, Cherie gains the sympathy of the town sheriff and tires to escape."
Steve Martin's Picasso at Lapin Agile will follow, playing April 3-27. William Keeler will direct a cast that includes Joseph Fuqua, Nancy Nufer and Paul Provenza. The play, according to press notes, is an "imaginary meeting between painter Pablo Picasso and scientist Albert Einstein at a bar in Paris in the early 1900s. On the verge of major breakthroughs, the two talents share a rarefied sense of beauty and debate the nature of genius. They are then joined by a mysterious visitor from the future who shakes, rattles and rolls in his blue suede shoes." Provenza also starred in the work Off-Broadway.
Kevin Kilner and Shiva Rose will head the cast of My Antonia, which was adapted by Scott Schwartz from Willa Cather's novel. Schwartz will also direct the poetic drama, which will boast musical underscoring by his father, Wicked's Stephen Schwartz. The production, which runs May 8-June 1, follows "the journey of a spirited young immigrant girl and her family as they struggle to make a living and a life on the Nebraska plains in the late 1800s. The story is told through a series of flashbacks as recalled by Antonia's childhood friend Jim Burden." The West Coast premiere of the musical revue It's Only Life will be presented June 19-July 12. Directed by Daisy Prince, the work features the songs of John Bucchino, who is currently collaborating with Harvey Fierstein on the Broadway-bound musical A Catered Affair. Bucchino's songs have been recorded by Patti LuPone, Barbara Cook, Nancy LaMott, Art Garfunkel, Michael Feinstein and Judy Collins, among others.
The world premiere of David Rambo's The Spin Cycle will play July 31-Aug. 24. Directed by James O'Neil, the production — co-starring Eric Lange and Michael Learned — concerns "a baby boomer [who] returns to her childhood home to deal with her mother's fading health. In the process, she dredges up old insecurities, squabbles with her sibling rival (a brother who can't hold a job or a conversation), makes weak attempts to revise her own history, and finally begins to confront her own limits and her mother's mortality."
The anniversary season will conclude with the classic Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick musical She Loves Me. Featuring Roger Befeler and Kim Huber, the Tony-winning musical will run Sept. 4-28. She Loves Me, which is based on Miklos Laszlo's play, is set in 1930s Budapest and is described as "a funny, intelligent, and sentimental story about two intensely competitive co-workers who unwittingly become pen pals through a 'Lonely Hearts' column." Song titles include "Vanilla Ice Cream" and "Dear Friend."
The season will also feature a 10th anniversary gala Nov. 15 and 16, which will be followed by a special event to rename the theatre.
For more information about the Rubicon season or to purchase tickets, call (805) 667-2900 or visit www.rubicontheatre.org.
